Lip Balm
by Julimond
Summary: It was their weird little 'thing.'


Category: SJ utter fluff!

Content warnings: maybe a bit silly. Oh, and I say "ass" once. Consider yourself warned! ;)

Season: set between seasons 8 and 9, basically right when Jack stops being Sam's immediate superior. And I imagine the semi-flashback taking place sometime during the second season.

Spoilers: slight ones for Divide & Conquer and you should know who Pete is

Disclaimer: Characters not mine, no infringement intended, yadda yadda

Author's Notes: This fic idea came to me at the drug store while I was buying – wait for it – lip balm! Duh. Which one I bought you will find out at the end of the fic. Don't wanna give anything away ;) I made orange Sam's favorite color because I know it's Amanda's cause she's mentioned it in various interviews. Oh, and my first Sam POV fic. Yay!

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Lip Balm

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She walked into the drug store, smiling, giddy like a child at Christmas. God, could she be more juvenile? When had this become an event worthy of her biggest, goofiest grin?

Well, she could remember when, and she certainly remembered why. And it was definitely something she was *never* going to tell anyone.

To an outsider it would appear that she was here to merely shop for a bunch of necessary beauty products. Shower gel, shampoo, conditioner, that sorta stuff. And she was. Honestly.

But the one thing she really looked forward to buying was lip balm. Flavored lip balm.

She had always used it, of course, even before joining the Air Force. Who didn't? But afterwards, more than ever, it was her own little way of maintaining at least a bit of femininity in a world of sometimes overwhelming maleness and strict regulations that dictated her hairstyle, wardrobe, and general (non-)usage of jewelry and makeup.

She wasn't complaining, really. It's not that she had ever really been into all that girly stuff. Growing up with an older brother and a military father, she had always been more of a tomboy anyway.

But now and then she liked to remind herself that underneath these baggy BDU's she was a woman after all.

And lip balm had been one of the only ways to do that. It was virtually transparent, but just added that little bit of shine to her lips. And flavor. Can't forget the flavor.

Back in the days, she had pretty much stuck to one flavor, mostly strawberry. Nothing extraordinary.

But then, one day, things had changed.

It had been one of those missions, years ago, where SG-1 actually got lucky enough to 'gate to a pleasant, boring planet, with lots of ruins for Daniel to gush over, and lots of semi-downtime for Teal'c, the Colonel, and herself.

And for once, she hadn't been complaining. It had been nice to just sit back, relax, and bask in the sunshine, sitting next to her boys (a term she would *never* use in front of them or they'd probably kill her)while enjoying the vista across a field of beautiful native flowers.

So, she hadn't been able to hide her grin, which he'd noticed, naturally.

"What's with the smile, Carter?"

"Oh, nothing, sir. Just appreciating the view."

"I figured you'd like the flowers, since they're orange and all…"

She'd been perplexed that he actually remembered her favorite color. But then again, this was the Colonel, always full of surprises…

And then he'd said it.

"They're pretty. And they smell great too. Like strawberries."

At this point, Teal'c had turned, his obligatory eyebrow raised, and looked at him as if to say 'Have you lost your mind, O'Neill? They are flowers, not fruit.'

She'd turned too, although for different reasons. She'd looked at him to find out if he'd said what he did because of what she'd thought he meant.

And yes. There'd been no doubt. Because just a second later, he had turned towards her with that unreadable smile on his face, and had let his gaze dip to her shiny lips.

Her answering blush had rivaled that of a teenage girl caught staring by her crush. Which hadn't been that far off as metaphors went, but of course, she'd never have admitted that. Nor would she now!

Anyway, so that's when it had started.

And it hadn't stopped ever since.

She made sure to apply lip balm before driving to base in the morning. (You never knew, sometimes she'd meet him on the parking lot.)

She made sure to apply lip balm before going on a mission. (He'd often be either in the control room (then he'd see it) or even the gate room (then he'd smell it) to see them off.)

And she especially made sure to apply lip balm before going into a briefing with him. (Because then she was next to him practically all the time, being his 2IC and all, so he could both see *and* smell it.)

And yes, should anyone ever find out, she would die of embarrassment and would have to kill that person. Not necessarily in that order.

She changed flavors every other month, just to put some variety into it, but had pretty much decided to stick with fruits after a while. The fact that he had basically told her what he preferred once while drunk of his ass ("You know, Carterrrr, I like it when you smelllll lllike fruuuuuit. Weirrrd spices? Not ssssso mush…") probably had something to do with that decision, but again, she wasn't going to admit *that*!

It was funny, really. She knew that he knew why she was doing it. And yet, neither of them ever said anything. Which somehow made it more exciting.

It was their weird little 'thing.'

Oddly enough, even after the Za'tarc incident and the following years of desperately trying not to get too close to the line, heck, even during her relationship with Pete, she'd never stopped.

And he'd never given her any inclination that he wanted her to.

That's why she was here now. In the drug store, buying new lip balm again. Because she liked it. Ah, who was she kidding, because *he* liked it. Because *she* liked that *he* liked it.

God, again with the adolescent thoughts. Wasn't she too old for this?

After picking out her fruit of the month (This one had to be special!) and grabbing that other beauty stuff she kind of needed but wasn't really interested in, she quickly paid, walked to her car, and drove off. All the while grinning like an idiot.

Yep. She was certified.

She arrived at his house twenty minutes later. Carefully applying the new purchase to her lips, she momentarily closed her eyes to breathe in the fruity aroma.

He had to like this one. It reminded her of summer, sun, and beaches, all things she knew he liked, and she really wanted to share with him some day. Maybe someday soon.

She knocked on his door, the butterflies in her stomach almost tearing her apart. She couldn't remember the last time she'd been that nervous.

Then he opened his door, and all nervousness went away, replaced by confusion.

"Um, sir? Why do you have your eyes closed?"

"Cardder, do dot call me 'sir.' I'm dot your CO adymore, rebember?"

Okay. This was strange. Even for him. Not only was he standing in front of her with closed eyes, he also spoke through his nose as if he had a cold. But she had just seen him this morning and he'd been fine.

"Okay, *Jack* (Wow. *So* weird!), what's going on?"

Then he fumbled for her hand, pulled her inside, shut the door with his foot, and pushed her against the wall. Gently, of course, but she still felt breathless.

Slowly, he put his fingers on her face, sliding them down to her lips. Ever so carefully, he touched them, feeling the slightly sticky balm she had just applied. And he smiled.

Then she got it. And smiled too.

His face inched closer, eyes still shut (and, she suspected, nose as well), his lips hovering over hers, not quite touching, torturing her.

She groaned in frustration, eliciting an evil grin, but then he closed the distance and her mind melted.

She felt the moment he allowed himself to breathe through his nose again. (He really had to since his mouth was *so* otherwise occupied!)But then she didn't have any coherent thought for at least five minutes. At least, that's what it felt like after they came up for air.

His eyes were open and he slowly licked his lips. Which awakened the butterflies in her stomach yet again. "Pina Colada?"

Cheeks flushed, she smiled shyly. "You like it?"

That wolfish grin that she had only seen once or twice before spread over his face. "It's perfect." Then, "Still got your others?"

Now she couldn't hold back a giggle. "Yep, all still at home."

He slowly wound his arms around her waist, bringing them even closer, if that was possible. "You do know, you gotta bring them over, right? Knowing them by sight and smell is one thing, but tasting them really takes the cake."

Her smile was threatening to split her face in half. "Don't worry. They'll be here." Then she added with slight hesitation, "And many new ones afterwards…"

Jack just nodded. "Can't wait."

When he kissed her again, all thoughts escaped her, except one.

God, she really couldn't wait either.

thE enD


End file.
